Abstract
Background: The influence of providing information about complications of disease and vaccine cost on parental decision to vaccinate against varicella was assessed.
Method: During telephone interviews of 330 parents of infants aged 9 months, parents were asked if they would agree to have their child vaccinated and were presented information first about varicella complications and then about cost of the vaccine.
Results: When complications were explained but information about cost was not, 94% of parents were favourable toward having their child vaccinated. When complications were not explained but cost was presented, this percentage was only 34%. When both cost and complications were presented, 60% of parents were favourable toward the vaccine.
Interpretation: In improving receptivity towards varicella vaccine, parents should always be presented data regarding varicella complications by their health care provider.
Résumé
Contexte: La décision des parents de faire vacciner leur enfant contre la varicelle a été évaluée avec ou sans information sur les complications de la maladie et pour un vaccin gratuit ou coûtant 80 $ CAN (~50 $ É-U).
Méthode: Au cours d’entrevues téléphoniques, 330 parents de nourrissons âgés de 9 mois se sont faits demander s’ils seraient d’accord pour que leur enfant soit vacciné et ont reçu de façon séquentielle de l’information sur les complications de la varicelle et le coût du vaccin.
Résultats: Dans la situation où les complications étaient expliquées et où on ne parlait pas du coût du vaccin, 94 % des parents étaient favorables à ce que leur enfant soit vacciné. Dans le scénario où le coût était présenté mais pas les complications de la maladie, ce pourcentage était seulement de 34 %. Quand les complications et le coût étaient présentés, 60 % des parents étaient favorables au vaccin.
Interprétation: Le médecin devrait toujours présenter aux parents les données concernant les complications de la varicelle.
Footnotes
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Manuel Banos, Sébastien Beausoleil, Elisabeth Côté, Anne Dagnault, Louis Dufort, Thien-Hong Tina Ly, Lucie Joly, Rebecca Langlais, Christian Michaud, Éric Tourville and Lise Tremblay who did the interviews and to Danuta Skowronski who provided helpful comments.
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